Remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, August 27, 2001

August 20, 2001

Thank you all. Thank you very much. At ease. [Laughter]

Thank you for that warm welcome. Before I begin my address, I know you'll want to join me in paying tribute to a fine friend and a good man who left us last week. We mourn the loss of Floyd Spence, who served our country well as a Congressman from South Carolina. He was chairman of the Committees on National Security and on the Armed Services, a senior member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He was a strong advocate for national defense. Our prayers are with his wife, Deborah, and his four sons.

My, time flies. I was here a year ago, minus one day. [Laughter] Since then, I have had a change of address--[Laughter]--and I received a great honor. Another honor comes to me today, to speak as Commander in Chief to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America.

Today I bring the respect of our Nation and a special greeting from one of your own members, from VFW Post 4344 of Houston, Texas, the former President George H.W. Bush.

I want to thank your commander in chief. John has been in the Oval Office. He is a true advocate for the veterans. He has done a fine job. And like me, he married well. And I want to congratulate John's successor, Jim Goldsmith. And I look forward to working with Jim, just like I have with John. I also want to thank Bob Wallace. I want to thank Bob Wallace, the VFW's man in Washington, DC, for working closely with my administration and representing your interests very well. I want to thank Pat Jankowski of the Ladies Auxiliary, who are gathered here as well in Milwaukee, and I want to thank her for her leadership. And I want to congratulate Diana Stout, who will become the incoming president of the Ladies Auxiliary.

As well, I want to thank the Governor of Wisconsin, Scott McCallum, for his hospitality, and I want to thank all the good people of Wisconsin, particularly Milwaukee for being such a welcoming city to this great convention.

And I want to pay tribute to a good friend of mine and a good friend of yours, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Tony Principi. Last year he was giving me advice about veterans affairs. This year he sits around the Cabinet, making sure I understand what we are doing in veterans affairs. And I appreciate so very much Tony's return to public service. He is doing a fine job.

I want to thank you all for having me come to this convention. I have been looking forward to this visit. I appreciate every chance I get to travel our country. It is important for a President never to become isolated in the seat of power. As great and influential as that city is, sometimes the President just has to get out of Crawford, Texas. [Laughter]

This is a fine organization. General Douglas MacArthur called the VFW the greatest organization in the world. He and his dad were both members, and they would be proud of all you have done for your country, and they would be proud of the more than 1.9 million members of the VFW.

Each one of you is a living example of a special kind of patriotism, the love of country, expressed not just in word but in lifetimes of service. You defended America in hours of need. You help your fellow veterans in times of their need. And you have done so much to build the character of our young people, to teach them to live by good values, to honor their parents, to trust in God. You helped them to appreciate freedom, to love America, and to respect our flag. You understand as well that showing a basic respect for our Nation flag is not merely the option of every citizen; it should be a matter of constitutional law.

In Europe last month, one of my last stops was Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. I went there to thank our service men and women for their sacrifice for our Nation. I took the occasion to make good on a promise, by signing a bill to allocate over $2 billion in additional appropriations for military pay, benefits, health, and housing. To restore the strength and morale of America's Armed Forces, we must first take care of the people who wear our uniform. I believe we're making every branch of service a place where men and women are proud to serve and, as importantly, proud to stay.

My administration understands America's obligations not only go to those who wear the uniform today but to those who wore the uniform in the past, to our veterans. And at times, those obligations have not been met. Veterans in need of care have been kept waiting, and thousands of veterans' claims have been delayed or, in some cases, lost in the bureaucracy.

Many veterans have observed that the Government seemed to work a lot more efficiently when it wanted something from them. When the draft board got your file, it worked efficiently. [Laughter] But now, when you need health care, forms get lost and answers come late. That is no way to treat America's veterans, and that is going to change.

Secretary Principi is conducting a top-to-bottom review of the claims processing. Currently, there are about 600,000 pending applications, of which 53,000 have been pending over a year. Many of those belong to veterans over 70 years of age. That's not right. I have given Secretary Principi the clearest of clear mandates. He must bring those claims to a speedy and fair resolution. We must move as quickly as possible on the backlog, and we will. We will improve cooperadon between the VA and the Department of Defense in providing care to those who served.